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Overview



The non-lethal flashbang grenade temporarily blinds anybody within its concussive blast, making it perfect for flushing out closed-in areas. Its loud explosion also temporarily masks the sound of footsteps.
―Official description

The Flashbang is a type of grenade available in the Counter-Strike series.

Overview[]

The flashbang is essentially composed of a pyrotechnic metal oxidant-mix of magnesium or aluminium, and an oxidiser such as potassium perchlorate.

Unlike other grenades, players can hold two flashbangs at once for most games. In the Deleted Scenes, players may even carry three at once. Only one flashbang can be purchased/obtained in Classic Casual mode of Global Offensive, while two can be obtained in Classic Competitive. However, players cannot acquire second one if they had already filled up their inventory with three other grenades and a flashbang, since four grenades are the absolute maximum amount of grenades a player can carry.

In all games, the flashbang explodes on a timed fuse after being thrown. A bright flash of light will be released when the device explodes, blinding all players with a clear sight to it, including teammates (regardless if the option "friendly fire" is enabled or disabled), obscuring their entire screen with white for a short moment, before fading out again (the HUD is also obstructed by the whiteness when blinded). In Counter-Strike: Source and later games, the fade out process will also show a frozen afterimage of the player's last view before getting flashed. Note that it is possible to blind players when a flashbang explodes in smoke.

Players who are near the explosion but do not have a view of the flashbang, or are at a very long distance away from the flashbang but still has direct view to the explosion (in Global Offensive) will still be blinded, albeit for a very short moment. The explosion deals no damage and does not prevent the blinded players from performing any normal actions.

After Counter-Strike: Source, players affected by the flashbang will be also deafened by the sound of the explosion, only able to hear a ringing sound.

The length of the fade-out varies depending on the angle the explosion from the player's crosshair and the distance of the explosion from the player. The maximum blinding effects are applied when the explosion happens right beside the player and within the player's view in a 16:9 aspect ratio, or below roughly 53 degrees away from the crosshair (in any direction). The effects of the flashbang is not affected by the player's monitor aspect ratio.[1] The following are flashbang stats for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive:[2]

Global Offensive Flashbang Stats (Angle)
Angle from player's aim (degrees) Time of full blindness (seconds) Total time of blinding effects (seconds)
0-53 1.88 4.87
53-72 0.45 3.4
72-101 0.08 1.95
101-180 0.08 0.95

The length of the blinding effects scale off in a roughly linear fashion as the player's distance to the explosion increases.[2]

After the October 23, 2013 update for Global Offensive, blinded players will have a special third-person animation indicating their blindness to other players, having an arm partially covering their eyes. However, this does not affect their ability to use grenades and their weapons.

Flashed csgo anim

Flashed icon for spectators (animated)

When spectating a flashed player, the spectator's view will only have a white overlay that still allows some visibility. When spectating normally, a white circular symbol will be shown, and deplete as the effects of the flashbang wear off. When spectating on GOTV, an icon of an eye with a cross (X) along with the text "blinded" will appear on the screen.

When a bot is blinded in Condition Zero and Source, they will refrain from shooting most of the time and simply run to a corner, or crouching, then spraying their bullet without retreating. In Global Offensive, they will always spray bullets and run backwards. Bots generally make no efforts to look away from thrown Flashbangs.

Deleted Scenes[]

In Deleted Scenes, flashbangs are thrown by 9×19mm Sidearm-wielding Terrorists, who also have an infinite supply of grenades.

NPCs blinded by flashbangs are unable to attack for short time.

Tactics[]

  • Quickly looking away can only minimize the effects.
  • Flashbangs in tight corridors cannot be easily avoided, even for players who quickly look away who can only minimize the effects.
  • Use these in closed quarters to create confusion among enemy players. Blinded players are easy targets and can hardly react so finish them off quickly. However, experienced enemies will spray and prey so exercise utmost caution.
  • Using a flashbang is extremely helpful against campers, note that campers hiding around corners will be more likely to shoot blindly after being flashed, even for enemies armed with sniper rifles.
  • Throw a flashbang at areas wherever suspected enemy gunfire is even heard to offer you the chance to eliminate blinded targets, give more room to escape, and/or even move around them if you think that you can avoid their bullets.
    • Try to throw a flashbang when enemies are occupied and do not notice you, specifically from behind. Generally, if friendly fire is enabled, groups of opposing team members will normally be very reluctant to fire their weapons thus making it easier for you to eliminate them.
    • Do not get into the habit of peeking around areas and throwing this grenade as it is more recommended to throw a flashbang at suspected enemy locations without looking. Enemies may be anticipating your movement and they will try to attack you before you can throw it, or use this timing to kill you while you are holding a flashbang.
    • You can use the wall-bouncing tactic to throw the flashbang without exposure to enemy fire, but careful though, you might flash yourself or your teammates.
  • If you think you're about to be cornered, use a flashbang and retreat. If you absolutely have to be blinded, try to minimise the effect by looking away after you throw the stun grenade.
  • Do NOT automatically assume a flashbang going off is license to act indiscriminately. Skilled enemies may avoid being blinded and they can surprise careless targets that rush in.
  • Be cautious if playing with bots in Source version; stunned bots will often spray their weapon blindly, regardless of friend or foe.
  • A "pop-flash" is often used at higher-level play. This means the flash explodes within a split second of it being seen by the enemy. This can be extremely effective to blind enemies around corners if thrown perfectly. To achieve this, bounce or throw the flashbang from a longer distance due to the short fuse time.
  • In confined areas, it is possible to combine a smoke grenade with a flashbang. First pop smoke (since most players will look into it); then, plant a flashbang inside the smoke to blind them.
  • In more open-spaced maps like Dust2, it is possible to throw a flashbang over a wall or doors to blind someone behind it.

Appearances[]

The Flashbang appeared in the following maps:

  • Frantic: In the armory in the Terrorist spawn area, accessed by destroying the vent.
  • Jail: In the armory in the Terrorist spawn area, accessed by destroying the vent.
  • Trinity: In a crate on the lower path from the Terrorist spawn area.

In the Tour of Duty, the Flashbang kill challenge appears in:

Map Difficulty Challenge
Inferno tod wide
Inferno
Hard Kill a blinded enemy
Expert Kill a blinded enemy and survive the round
Cs militia cz (wide)
Militia
Hard / Expert Kill a blinded enemy and survive the round
Chateau tod wide
Chateau
Hard / Expert Kill a blinded enemy and survive the round
Piranesi tod wide
Piranesi
Expert Kill a blinded enemy and survive the round
Fastline tod wide
Fastline
Hard Kill a blinded enemy and survive the round

Flashbangs are usable by the player in half of the levels in the game, with the exceptions of Lost Cause, Hankagai, Turn of the Crank, Alamo, Fastline, Run!, and Miami Heat. They are also used in scripted sequences in Turn of the Crank and Fastline.

Main article: Revolution

Fowl Play  (630)

Mission Unlock(s) Reward
As a Terrorist, score 50 enemy flashes in Casual: Active Duty Group matches.

600 XP

Brief Audio
“Flashbangs are wonderful little things: They can buy you time for an escape or they can create an opportunity for a kill… and fortunately for you, I happen to have a surplus I’m dying to unload.”
Booth

Main article: Wildfire

Blinded By The Light  (720)

Mission Unlock(s) Reward
Execute 5 enemy flashes in Casual: Op. Wildfire Group matches.

300 XP

Brief Audio
“A disoriented enemy is an enemy that is not murdering you or your teammates. Get proficient with flashbangs, and use them to gain position on your opponents.”
Felix Riley

Main article: Gemini
The Flashbang is among the weapons the players can choose from at the beginning of the Phoenix Compound map in "The Extraction", "Once More Into The Breach", and "The Enemy Of My Enemy...".

Main article: Hydra

Blinded By The Light  (924)

Mission Unlock(s) Reward
Guardian Co-op Challenge: Play as a Counter-Terrorist with a partner and protect the bombsite from enemies on Shipped.

Score a win by getting 10 blinded kills with MAG-7. Heavy Assault Suit is available.

Note: Players spawn with the P2000/USP-S.

700 XP

Brief Audio
“Alright, word from on high is that we want to minimize damage to the cargo. Blind your targets before taking them out… the less they're shooting, the better.”
Rona Sabri

Achievements[]

Kill
Blind Ambition css Blind Ambition
Kill a total of 25 enemy players blinded by flashbangs.
Blind Fury css Blind Fury
Kill an enemy player while you are blinded from a flashbang.
Spray and Pray css Spray and Pray
Kill two enemy players while you are blinded from a flashbang.
Special
The Road to Hell css The Road to Hell
Blind an enemy player who then kills a teammate.

Combat Skills
Blind Ambition csgo Blind Ambition
Kill 25 enemies blinded by flashbangs.
Blind Fury csgo Blind Fury
Kill an enemy while you are blinded from a flashbang.
Spray and Pray csgo Spray and Pray
Kill two enemies while you are blinded from a flashbang.

Bugs[]

  • In GoldSrc games, if a player is blinded, it is still possible to see through a scope, view player scores, and see the killfeed. This has been fixed in the Source games.

Trivia[]

  • In the GoldSrc games, the model of the flashbang, alongside the Smoke Grenade and HE Grenade, is a retextured version of the CS Grenade model, featuring different color stripes.
    • The CS grenade (and by extension, the flashbang) is modeled after M7A3 CS gas grenade.
      • The text "M7A3 RIOT CS" can be seen on the flashbang in Counter-Strike.
  • In Counter-Strike, the pin remains on the flash bang even after the player performs the animation of pulling the pin.
  • The flashbang in Global Offensive is modeled after the M84 stun grenade.
  • In Beta 1.0, the behavior of the flashbang was close to the grenade in Half-Life. For instance, players were able to cook the grenade. However, if cooked too long, it will explode in the player's hands, blinding themselves.
  • During Counter-Strike Beta development, the Flashbang was at one point renamed the Concussion Grenade, and dealt damage upon explosion. This change was later reverted.
  • There are references to this weapon in the Left 4 Dead game files, hinting that it may have been planned to appear in the game at some point.
  • In real life, a flashbang can blind for up to 20 minutes; needless to say, this was significantly shortened in the game for obvious balance reasons. Enemies can only be affected for a few seconds.
    • In reality, the flashbang is somewhat lethal despite being able only to incapacitate enemies: the concussive blast of the detonation can still injure, and the heat created can ignite flammable materials such as fuel.
  • In some rare situations, if a player is right in front a flashbang that is about to explode, other players who look at the blocking player may actually not be affected by the stun grenade.
  • When the player kills someone with the flashbang, there will be two HUD icons and they are unique compared to the other kill icons of the other grenades and weapons.[3]
    • It will be much larger.
    • It would have the same size as a normal kill icon but the icon will appear sightly below the area where a normal icon would appear.
  • When deafened in Counter-Strike: Source, the "bleep" sound is reused from Half-Life 2 when the player is injured and deafened by explosions.
  • Prior to the introduction of the decoy grenade in Global Offensive, the flashbang was the cheapest grenade.
  • In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, it is not possible to initiate demo recording while blinded.[4]

References

External links[]

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